Remembering Don Grady: 1944-2012

Don Grady passed away on Wednesday, June 27 in Thousand Oaks, California. Grady was perhaps best known by the public as an actor, beloved in roles such as a Mousekeeter on The Mickey Mouse Club and Robbie on My Three Sons, but music was his passion. He built a substantial career as a composer, musician, singer and songwriter and actually landed his first television roles because of his musical talent – in his audition for the Mousekeeters, he played seven different instruments, sang and tap danced for Walt Disney. Later, Grady walked away from My Three Sons to write his first album.

A longtime member of the BMI family, Grady wrote the theme song to Phil Donahue’s talk show; contributed songs to television series and film; co-wrote “Keep the Dream Alive,” which was recorded by Herbie Hancock, Della Reese and others for the Jazz to End Hunger project; and released solo albums. Grady met his longtime collaborator, Marty Panzer, when the former was in need of a lyricist for the EFX stage show in Las Vegas. Together, they went on to make many more memorable contributions, including writing and producing over 100 songs for the Walt Disney Company.